I used this and it does wash well. The fragrance is great, soft and not overpowering. The fragrance does linger for a while especially with folded clothes in the drawers and this has a pleasant scent to it. Above all, it does the cleaning of the laundry very well.

Of all the toys I put in the party bags, this was the favourite by far I think! Many seemed to have gone for this first. However, if they are stretched too far, they do start to loose their elasticity, but still lots of fun got out of it.

Have you ever sat through one of those hell and damnation sermons? It can be uncomfortable, depending on what your private life is like. I mean, if the preacher is talking about the evils of pornography, you are pretty much not going to look at him in the face if you are an addict. In a way, reading You Are Making Me Hate You by Corey Taylor like that sometimes.

You Are Making Me Hate You is a rant against modern mentalities the author counts as idiotic. For example, he rails against the drinking and lazy western culture that is encouraged by the rise of Reality TV.

The author does not spare the so-called “popular music” of the 21st century. He calls it “garbage” as he believes there is little talent out there, despite the multitude of talent shows, music channels and websites that exist to promote them. He writes:

“I wake up in the morning, turn on the TV, and instantly got stung by a million mediocre bees in the form of crappy writing, weak synth pop, gargling vocals, and nasal so-called rock ‘n’ roll. It all sounds the same: every song has the familiar quirky keyboard/acoustic “riff”, a moaning attempt at a verse by college dropouts, and a falsetto melody disguised as a hook that serves as the big “chorus”.

The author does not spare the fashion industry, airports, drivers, and movies (romantic comedies) of folly. He devotes each chapter to these and more.

You Are Making Me Hate You is a veiled social commentary about the idiosyncrasies of this modern era. It pokes angry fun at stuff we do as a society that doesn’t make sense. The author reminds of Mr. T and his one-liners on fools. And like Mr. T, he also believes the proliferation of these wacky behaviour isn’t necessarily good for us as humans and hinders our progress.

You Are Making Me Hate You is a little difficult to read because it is bit drone-y and whiny in its tone. But that can be forgiven as that’s part of its purpose (I think). The writing is unclear is some places and the sentence structures make it seem as if the book is written or recorded directly from a speech recognition tool. In short, it feels like the author was speaking rather than writing. Some say that can be a good thing. However, this isn’t. The sentences are clunky, awkward, and didn’t really make for an easy reading.

You Are Making Me Hate You will elicit chuckles from many quarters and that is okay. It is not a bad book by any means, but it could have been great if great care had been taken in the crafting of its message.

Modern movies give a taste or a shadow of what modern espionage is about, i.e. the kind of people working in that world and the techniques they frequently employ. However, medieval espionage is more obscure. Of course, there are a few manuals on medieval spying systems and practices, but they are not something you pick off the public library or just any bookstore.

Believe it or not, Secrets of the Ninja is a guide on medieval espionage. Its contents are culled and interpreted from Shinobi Hiden, one of the world’s oldest and real ninja manuals. The Shinobi Hiden is said to have been written by Hattori Hanzo (also known as Hanzo the Devil), a military leader and shinobi commander.

Apart from explaining a bit about the Japanese espionage methods, Secrets of the Ninja corrects a few Western misconceptions about Japanese ninjas. For example, it says that:

“Ninjutsu is not a form of hand-to-hand combat. Ninjutsu is the art of infiltration and espionage.”

On the issue of the black suit worn by ninjas as portrayed in Western movies, the book says:

“The “ninja suit” was not worn by medieval shinobi. While they sometimes did wear black, masks were common at the time and many people would have worn black with a hood to conceal the face. The ninja would not have worn this garb during the Warring States period of Japan’s history, but rather would have worn light armor on night raids and normal samurai garb or military wear on missions of stealth.”

A unique trait of Secrets of the Ninja is that it interprets the ancient manual and transforms it into a story form, albeit in a graphic novel format. In the book, you follow Nagata-sensei as he teaches his students about shinobi techniques and ethics as well as showing them various equipment and how to use them. Also, Nagata-sensei takes care to put these teachings into practice when he takes them on missions.

Secrets of the Ninja's artwork is very structured and professional. It is detailed and draw us into the setting of the story. The dialogue is natural and capture the essence of medieval Japan.At the end of the book is a more detailed description of some ninja tools mentioned in the story. It is a nice touch and will please medieval weapons enthusiasts.

Secret of the Ninja is a wonderful manual for beginners who desire to have a peep into the red world of ancient Japanese spies. Heartily recommended.

The life of Emperor Wu Zhao (popularly known as Wu Zetian) possesses some similarities to that of Hatshepsut, Pharaoh of Egypt. They are both women and rule at a time when women rulers were deemed to be an abnormality. Also, both employ unconventional tactics to keep hold of power in a male dominated world. Significantly, both women’s reigns are seen to be relatively successful in today’s world. Hence, when I saw the opportunity to read about the first female emperor of China, I had to seize it.

When your political opponents call you “cold…, of lowly birth,… half-viper half-chameleon,… ravenous jackal…hated by men and spirits…” then you know you are in for a rough ride in your career. However, these are the words used by one of the prominent scholars of Wu Zhao’s day to describe her.

Emperor Wu Zhao & Her Pantheon Of Devis, Divinities, And Dynastic Mothers focuses mainly on Wu Zhao’s political tactics in getting public support during her reign as well as legitimizing herself as the right person to rule over China. Because the idea of a woman ruling is not a common phenomenon, the new Empress had to be creative by not dismissing tradition, but by fostering an empowered female identity with “a lineage of culturally revered female ancestors, goddesses, and paragons from different traditions, all of whom were closely associated with her person and her political power.”

By using ancestor worship, which is a key pillar of the empire, Emperor Wu Zhao stakes a claim and strengthens her hold on her position by “reconstituting rites, resuscitating institutions, and echoing dynastic names of past eras.”

The author devotes a great part of the book to detailed information on the ancestors and goddesses Wu Zhao used to silence those who opposed her.

Emperor Wu Zhao & Her Pantheon Of Devis, Divinities, And Dynastic Mothers is heavy on details on Chinese deities. The information is put in an organized form and this helps with quick references. The book did not dwell on the Emperor Zu Zhao’s background, but instead focuses on her accomplishments and reforms (which she sometimes enforces in a cunning way).

The writing is straightforward and stripped of flowery language - everything is quick and straight to the point. For those who seek to learn more about the political feats of the first female emperor of China, this is a fine reference book.

The Time Mom Met Hitler… reminds me of when you are having a good time at a party and manage to hold a group of people’s attention for a minute. However, your opening takes a bit too long as your anecdote takes a turn for the worse. You ramble your way through your raft of jokes, leaving your audiences perplexed and hoping you will just get to the point.

The Time My Mom met Hitler… follows the life of Dikkon Eberhart, the son of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet laureate, Richard Eberhart, from childhood to adulthood. It shines a light on the literary luminaries who graced young Dikkon’s house (Robert Frost, Dylan Thomas, W.H. Auden among others) and the struggles that follows as he grows and strives to follow in his father’s footsteps.

The book reveals Dikkon’s spiritual journey from what he calls a “Godian” to Judaism and then to Christianity. In this tapestry of tales is an exposition of interactions and politics among writers and poets as well as their financial and health struggles.

Dikkon also tells of his mother’s loss of memory as she grew old and his father’s struggle to come to terms with it. All in all, the book deals with the process of aging and the truth about coming to terms with our own mortality.

The Time My Mom Met Hitler… starts slowly. Actually the story did not kick off until Chapter Sixteen, which is a shame because the latter parts of the book contains some good stuff. Dikkon spends the early chapters on details of famous poets he spent his childhood rubbing shoulders with. He also touches on his childhood school antics, his father’s political views and his career escapades during the war, and his Mom’s brief meeting with Adolf Hitler. These details, unfortunately, are incoherent and lack enough focus to hold the reader’s attention.

The book does well in illuminating Dikkon’s personal struggles (family and spiritual) as well as his turmoil about following a path different from his father. The section on Richard Eberhart and his wife’s last days is written beautifully and very touching.

The Time My Mom Met Hitler… is a fine book hampered by irrelevant details. However, the ultimate reward comes if you manage to push through to the middle pages where the real meat of the story is.